Nigerian Asylum Seeker Granted UK Stay After Joining Terror Group

[Social Media]

 

A Nigerian woman who had her asylum claims rejected eight times has finally been allowed to stay in the UK after joining a terrorist organisation to strengthen her case. Despite acknowledging that her political beliefs were not genuine, a judge ruled that her association with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) meant she could not be safely returned to Nigeria.  

 

The 49-year-old woman first arrived in the UK in 2011 and began her involvement with IPOB in 2017. The group, which has been blamed for violent acts against the Nigerian state, is banned as a terrorist organisation in Nigeria but is not proscribed in Britain. In her ninth attempt to claim asylum, she argued that her membership in IPOB and participation in protests placed her at risk of persecution if deported.  

 

Upper Tribunal Judge Gemma Loughran accepted that the woman had only joined IPOB “in order to create a claim for asylum” and that her political activism was not genuine. However, the judge ruled that her actions had led to an “imputed” political opinion, meaning the Nigerian authorities could still perceive her as a threat. As a result, she was granted asylum under human rights laws.  

 

The case, disclosed in court documents obtained by *The Telegraph*, is one of several controversial immigration rulings that have sparked debate over the UK’s asylum system. Other recent cases include an Albanian criminal avoiding deportation due to his child’s dietary preferences and a Pakistani man convicted of child sex offences who was allowed to stay because deportation would be “unduly harsh” on his children.  

 

During Prime Minister’s Questions, Sir Keir Starmer addressed concerns over judicial decisions in immigration cases, calling them “wrong” and emphasizing that Parliament should set immigration laws, not judges. He pledged that Home Secretary Yvette Cooper would take steps to close legal loopholes that allow such rulings.  

 

Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, condemned the decision in the Nigerian woman’s case, calling it “patently absurd.” He argued that judges were exploiting broad interpretations of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to prevent deportations. “This is an abuse of the power judges have been given to interpret vague ECHR articles,” he said. “It is clear to me that a radical overhaul of human rights law is needed in order to end this abuse by the judiciary – who have taken for themselves what amounts to legislative powers.”  

 

The controversy also echoes previous instances where asylum seekers have reportedly converted to Christianity or falsely claimed persecution based on their sexuality to strengthen their cases.  

 

The Nigerian woman’s previous asylum claims spanned a decade, including appeals based on family life under ECHR Article Eight and allegations of being a trafficking victim. All were rejected. However, in her final appeal, she argued that Nigerian authorities monitored IPOB protests, including those held at the Nigerian High Commission in London. Her claim was supported by IPOB’s UK-based medical director, who confirmed her involvement in the organisation.  

 

While Lower Tribunal Judge Iain Burnett initially dismissed her claim due to insufficient evidence of her activism, Judge Loughran later overturned the decision. She acknowledged that the woman had no genuine political commitment to IPOB but ruled that Nigerian security forces would likely perceive her as an activist and target her upon her return.  

 

“The security services act arbitrarily and arrest, harm, and detain those it believes may be involved with IPOB without conducting an assessment of the extent of their involvement or their motivation,” Judge Loughran stated. “The appeal is allowed on the basis that [the Nigerian woman] has a well-founded fear of persecution on account of her imputed political opinion arising from her involvement with IPOB in the UK.”  

 

This ruling has intensified calls for reforms to prevent asylum seekers from manipulating the system through questionable claims, with critics arguing that UK immigration laws need urgent tightening.

 

Based on a report by Daily Telegraph 2025-02-14

 

 

[hotsun]

“A Nigerian woman who had her asylum claims rejected eight times has finally been allowed to stay in the UK after joining a terrorist organisation to strengthen her case.”

 

there you have it. All you need to be allowed into the UK is prove youre a terrorist, and youre in like flint